According to Sefer Yetzirah, each month of the Jewish
year has a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, a zodiac sign, one of the twelve
tribes of Israel, a sense, and a controlling limb of the body that correspond
to it.

Shevat is the eleventh of the twelve months of the Jewish
calendar.

The fifteenth day of Shevat is the "New Year of
Trees" according to the school of Hillel; according to the school
of Shamai, the "New Year of Trees" is the first of Shevat. The
"New Year of Trees" is the day from which the new year is reckoned
for the fruit of the trees with regard to the mitzvot of ma'aser ("tithes";
fruit that blossoms after this date may not be taken as a tithe on fruit
that blossomed before) and orlah (fruit less than three years old, which
is forbidden). It is celebrated by partaking of fruit, especially of the
seven species with which the land of Israel is blessed.

The 15th day of the 11th month alludes to the secret
of G-d's ineffable Name Havayah, whose first two letters, yud and hei
(which represent the higher, hidden level of unification) equal 15, and
whose last two letters, vav and hei (which represent the lower, revealed
level of unification), equal 11. The full secret of the Name Havayah is
the secret of the "Tree of Life," the tree of the month of Shevat.

Letter: tzadik.

The letter tzadik symbolizes the true tzadik ("righteous
one"), "and the tzadik is the foundation of the world."
The one consummate tzadik of the generation personifies the Tree of Life
in the Garden of Eden (all of whose trees correspond to the souls of the
righteous).

The very form of the letter tzadik (especially its final
form, which represents the true manifestation of the tzadik in the future)
resembles a tree. In the Torah, man is called Etz hasadeh ("the tree
of the field"). Etz hasadeh = 474 = da'at, the unique property of
man in general and of the tzadik in particular. Da'at is the power of
"connection." The month of Shevat is the month of connection
to the true tzadik of the generation, the Tree of Life of the generation.

Mazal: "deli" (Aquarius
- pail).

The New Year of Trees of the month of Shevat is the time
that the rain waters of the winter months begin to ascend in the veins
of the tree and bring it new life. The ascent of water in general is represented
by the deli. The root of deli means "to lift up," as in the
verse "my eyes are lifted up to heaven" (when the ayin--eye"--of
Tevet is lifted up to connect to the tzadik of Shevat, the word etz--"tree"--is
formed).

The Ba'al Shem Tov said that when one meets a water-carrier
carrying pitchers full of water, it is a sign of blessing. The tzadik
is a true manifestation of a water carrier.

"'Water' refers to Torah." The month of Shevat
is referred to as the new year for the study of Torah. The eating of the
fruits of Shevat corresponds to the partaking of and integration of the
sweet fruits of Torah wisdom. And so the waters of Shevat represent the
sweet waters of Torah.

Tribe: Asher.

The name "Asher" means "pleasure"
and "happiness." Our father Jacob blessed his son Asher: "from
Asher comes delicious [lit. fat] bread, and he shall provide the delicacies
of the king." From this it is evident that Asher represents the sense
of taste and eating.

The special tree which Asher personifies is the olive
tree, which gives the goodly oil with which Asher's portion in the land
of Israel was blessed. Of the seven species of the land of Israel, the
olive is the sixth, which, in Kabbalah, corresponds to the sefirah of
yesod, the "tzadik, foundation of the world." Olive oil represents
the potent seed of the tzadik to bear and sustain blessed generations
of Jewish souls.

Sense: eating, taste (achilah,
ta'am).

The rectified sense of eating is the special sense of
the tzadik, as is said: "The tzadik eats to satisfy his soul."
This verse continues: "but the stomach of the wicked is always lacking."
The soul-oriented tzadik feels "full" and happy with a little;
the body-oriented rasha (wicked-one) never feels "full."

Eating from the Tree of Life, the tzadik derives great
pleasure ("life" in Torah means "pleasure") from the
Divine sparks of light and lifeforce present within the food he eats.
In his rectified state of consciousness he is continuously aware that
"not on the [physical dimension of] bread alone does man live, but
on each utterance of the mouth of G-d does man live."

The time of greatest pleasure in partaking of food is
on the day of Shabbat. The word for "to satisfy [his soul]"
is cognate to the word for "seven," alluding to the seventh
day of Shabbat. A true tzadik experiences the pleasure of Shabbat the
entire week (in the Zohar, the tzadik is called Shabbat). The word Shevat
itself transforms to Shabbat (since the two letters tet and tav, both
letters of the tongue, are phonetically interchangeable).

Controller: stomach [and esophagus]
(etztomchah or kurkavan).

The relation between the stomach and sense of eating
(and taste) is clear.

Our sages state: "the kurkavan grinds." The
process of grinding is essential to digestion. Dissecting the coarse food
substance to fine parts is necessary in order to release the sparks of
Divine lifeforce contained within the food. By "grinding" (similar
to the "chewing" of the mouth) the stomach "tastes"
the inner essence of the food. This inner, spiritual sense of taste controls
the more external sense of taste and eating in the mouth.